Vishnu Saravanan secures India's first 2024 Paris Olympic quota in sailing

Vishnu Saravanan confirmed the first Paris Olympic quota place for India in sailing after a 26th-place finish at the World ILCA7 Championship in Adelaide, Australia, on Wednesday.

He was in the fifth place in the non-qualified sailors' rankings at the event, which was providing seven quota places for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Vishnu secured his qualification in the fourth Olympic qualification event after marginally missing the berth at the World Championships and Asian Games last year.

He managed five consecutive top-ten finishes in the race but fell out of the medal race in the last three races. However, he secured his much-awaited quota place for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 2023 World Sailing Championships was offering 16 Paris quota places where Vishnu, who made his debut at the event, finished 23rd and missed the coveted quota place by just seven places.

Vishnu had a very good outing at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, last year where he won the bronze medal after winning 3 out of his 11 races but missed out on the quota place as it was available only for the top-placed sailors.

Similarly, at the Asian Championships in December last year, he narrowly missed out on the medal and the quota place as he finished in the fourth position after making podium finishes on 4 out of his 10 races.

There is one more opportunity for the other Indian sailors to book their spots at the Paris Olympics through Last Chance Regatta, scheduled to be held from April 18 to April 27 in Hyeres, France. India had four representations in sailing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. So, the Indian sailors will be aiming to increase the number this time.